Over 200 Israeli filmmakers back makers of Gaza documentary 'Naza'

More than 200 Israeli filmmakers have expressed support for Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the makers of the documentary 'Naza', which was made on various aspects of Israel's military operations in Gaza. Many well-known figures from the country's film industry have signed a petition in this regard. The information was reported on Monday, September 14, citing Israeli media.

The list of signatories to the petition includes renowned directors such as Ari Folman and Shlomi Elkabetz. It said that one of the most important responsibilities of art and journalism is to reflect the reality of society. The filmmakers argued that despite disagreements over films and documentaries, no one should face threats or harassment because of their creative work.

The two makers of 'Naza' have been facing criticism and threats since the documentary won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival. Israeli filmmakers have come together in the petition to express solidarity with them. The documentary raises various allegations and questions about the Israeli military's operations in Gaza and the process of deciding on attacks.

The name of the documentary, 'Naza', is a Hebrew word used to mean potential civilian casualties or 'collateral damage' in a military strike. It highlights serious issues such as targeting strikes through artificial intelligence and carrying out military operations despite the risk of civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has rejected the allegations raised in the documentary. Its position is that the authenticity of information based on anonymous sources cannot be verified. The military claims that it is not artificial intelligence that makes strike decisions; rather, humans make these decisions following military policy and established rules.

On the other hand, Israel's Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar has described the position of the filmmakers supporting the documentary's makers as 'treason' and threatened to revoke their citizenship. However, under the country's legal framework, citizenship cannot be revoked by the sole decision of the culture minister. For this, a legal process determined through the interior minister and the court must be followed. It may be mentioned that 'Naza' makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor had earlier co-directed the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' with Palestinian filmmakers.